Brest Offensive

The Brest Offensive occurred on 22 June 1941 during World War II.

Planning stage
At the start of Operation Barbarossa, the central thrust of the offensive had the ultimate objective of capturing the Soviet stronghold of Minsk. Along the way stood several optional objectives; one of these was Kaunas, which was captured after a quick campaign in the north. The German high command hoped to encircle the majority of the Soviet forces along the Belarusian borderlands in a large cauldron near Bialystok; with the capture of Kaunas in the north, it was time for the southern German forces to close the southern pincer.

Fedor von Bock, the commander of Army Group Center, was given command of the thrust into southern Belarus. In his path stood two major obstacles: the fortress of Brest-Litovsk and the Pripet Marshes. Von Bock planned to have his southernmost units push into the marshes, head north after crossing the Dnepr-Bug Canal, and outflank and destroy the Soviet fortress at Brest-Litovsk. The XXIV Panzer Corps, commanded by Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, would be tasked with the securing of the Pripet Marshes. Meanwhile, the XII Armeekorps, commanded by Walther Schroth, would launch a head-on assault on Brest-Litovsk, assisted by Luftwaffe aircraft operating from airbases on the Polish border. The two pincers would secure Brest-Litovsk and the surrounding area, thereby destroying all Soviet forces in the south and creating a large cauldron in which the Soviets would be trapped.

Into the Swamps
The Pripet Marshes had to be secured as a precondition for any assault on Brest fortress; a head-on assault by the German infantry divisions without panzer support would be suicidal. German aircraft attempted to bomb the Soviet 75th Rifle Division in the swamps to the northwest of Malorita, but their bombing was ineffective; two Soviet soldiers were wounded. An air attack on the 9th Fortified Region achieved little more than minor damage; this time, the attack killed 9 Soviet soldiers and destroyed one artillery piece.

It soon became clear that the Luftwaffe's bombings would be ineffective in swamp terrain, so the panzer divisions launched their assaults against almost fully-manned divisions along the border.